Welcome

University of Sheffield

Confirmed Keynote Speakers: Prof. Stephen Campbell (Johns Hopkins); Prof. Lyndal Roper (Oxford); Prof. Emma Smith (Oxford); Prof. Feisal Mohamed (CUNY)

15th International Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Scottish Literature and Language (ICMRSLL)

University of Glasgow, Scotland

This event celebrates one of the RCM’s greatest treasures, the ‘Anne Boleyn Music Book’, which is one of the most significant books of Renaissance music in Britain. The book contains what appears to be the authentic signature of Anne Boleyn, who may have acquired it while serving as a maid of honour in the household of Margaret of Austria, with whom she moved to live at the French court when Margaret married Louis XII. It was acquired by the Royal College of Music at its foundation in 1883, when the book was part of the vast collection of about 5,000 volumes of music acquired from the recently disbanded Sacred Harmonic Society. The book is modest in size (about the size of a paperback book), beautifully hand-written, and contains music by some of Europe’s most famous composers. It has recently been disassembled, restored and rebound, allowing far-reaching new research to be carried out through examination of its paper, decorations and scribal hands and for fresh research on its musical contents; a magnificent facsimile edition, complete with scholarly essays and detailed critical apparatus is also currently in production.

The Society for Renaissance Studies is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of lectures in Ireland and the UK in early September, on the theme of the five senses. You are warmly invited to attend the Dublin lecture, by Prof. Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (Ireland Professor of Poetry) on ‘Gunpowder and Perfume: The Poetry of John Donne’, which takes place at the National Library of Ireland on Wednesday 13th September at 7pm, and will be followed by a wine reception.

7.30pm, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York

An evening of nostalgia, wonderment and silliness

In the film industry’s silent era, many films of both verve and variety were made that adapted Shakespeare’s plays for popular audiences. Come and sample these rare, surviving old films in an evening that takes us an engaging tour of some fascinating, touching and entertaining Shakespearean moments from early film history. The evening will be animated by some wonderful live music, by performance interjections from live actors and by lively commentary from Judith Buchanan.

London Metropolitan Archives (LMA), 40 Northampton Road, London EC1

Date: 9^th September 2017; Time: 10-4pm